Hello, My name is Steve and I have just finished reading the pratical guide to seasteading and realized the book was about the life I have been living daily for the past ten years. A picture of The Tipi is shown on the first pages of The Guide. Please stop by for a visit at http://www.thetipi.net AMA

Watched the video and can tell that it took a whole. whole lotta work to get it ‘ship shape’. Very impressive what you’ve done with it. Are there any or many licenses, permits or that kind of thing that you have to have?

This is really cool! Like 12mile I really wonder if you need permits for being a permanent Bay-resident. It could be The Tipi falls outside any category so the permits haven’t been invented yet? I really like the design btw!

I have many questions..

Do you have an engine for electricity? I guess the solar panel supplies barely enough to run a laptop computer.

Watched the video and can tell that it took a whole. whole lotta work to get it ‘ship shape’. Very impressive what you’ve done with it. Are there any or many licenses, permits or that kind of thing that you have to have?

Thank You, yes I did work very hard and still do work nearly every day to keep afloat.

I am regestered as a vessel with the state of California. Permits are not needed but………………..

Steve, your tipi looks like everybody with a boat can just get on board and make his private party there. How do you avoid damage by vandalism, theft, and similar.

Well if you board a vessel without permission the laws of the high seas says the Pirate can then be fired on forhtwith! In ten years only one person came aboard at night and he was a drunk in a kayak at three AM. Thefts are a concern but I am a poor man and have not much to steal, so far the thieves have not visited.

It also seems vulnerable to deterioration by weather, rain, sea gulls, sea lions, – how do you handle that?

The Tipi is covered in a seamless elastomeric roof material over plywood, the shape is ideal to withstand the pounding rain and wind in the winter. I recoat the “roof” every few years.Recently I have been experimenting with a new invention to keep the decks free of birdpoop, which I have had to manually clean every morning, I am using string and it works like a charm. Also the string provides a nice booby trap effect on unwanted visitors who if they board may trip and fall into the Bay.

Did you ever get a “authorty visit” to the site?

No

Congratulations for being among the first to take seasteading a step further than boating .

This is really cool! Like 12mile I really wonder if you need permits for being a permanent Bay-resident. It could be The Tipi falls outside any category so the permits haven’t been invented yet? I really like the design btw!

Everyone wants to know about the permits. I can only tell you that me and others worked hard to make the situation what it is today, I am very gratefull to be able to live “out there”.

I have many questions..

Do you have an engine for electricity? I guess the solar panel supplies barely enough to run a laptop computer.

The solar panel produces about 6 amps per hour, the storage is more important than the panel, I have two 100 amp hour deep cycle lifeline batteries which when in use are usually recharged to full by noon earch day. I use lcd tv with 52 channels via over the air digital signal. laptop, ipad, amplifier, grundigg shortwave, 12 volt lights, salt and freshwater pumps, battery chargers, all from the 12 volt with a 150 watt 100 volt inverter which powers everything, even everything turned on together

What energy source do you use for cooking?

Propane, in emergencies a SVEA 123

Can you give an estimate of how much you spend to build it?

I have the reciepts but i have never tallied it up.

Do you have neighbours with similar vessels?

Yes I have neighbors and by similar meaning off grid then yes

Have you ever fled to land because of severe weather conditions?

Yes I have such a place on land when needed. it gets super scary at two AM , 70 MPH winds outside with lots of rain and cross chop waves on the bay,Inside everyting must be lashed down and sleep sometimes is difficult. I have seen many vessels go down and out. the key to survival is , maintain, maintain, maintain…everything!

That video sounds reassuring. I guess that if you’ve been at one spot long enough you eventually get the (moral) right to stay there forever. (which is homesteading, after all). (“We can outlaw a few houseboats, but can’t make thousands homeless”). In Holland the prices of houseboats consist mostly of the right to anchor somewhere. The Bay might get crowded in a few years